# Literal types with TypeScript

I've been recently brushing up on my TypeScript courtesy of codewithmosh.com's [*Ultimate TypeScript Course*](https://codewithmosh.com/p/the-ultimate-typescript). While explicit types are a concept taken from Page 1 of the TypeScript handbook, today I discovered that you can also increase the strictness of a variable even further with [literal types](https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/2/everyday-types.html#literal-types):

```typescript
// This can *only* be "heads" or "tails"
type Coin = "heads" | "tails"; 

const flip = (): Coin => Math.random() < 0.5 ? "heads" : "tails";

console.log(flip());
```

Obviously, there is a lot of similarity to using an `enum` , but has the benefit of generating *slightly* less code after compilation if that's your bag. Personally, I'd probably stick with a backed [enum](https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/enums.html):

```typescript
enum Coin {
  HEADS = "heads",
  TAILS = "tails",
}

const flip = (): Coin => (Math.random() < 0.5 ? Coin.HEADS : Coin.TAILS);

console.log(flip());
```